ATI Radeon HD 4890: 1GHz Conquered!. Page 8

The launch of ATI Radeon HD 4890 should fill in the gap in the model line-up between Radeon HD 4870 and Radeon HD 4870 X2. The new graphics adapter promises to become a new overclocker dream. We are going to find out if it is really so and how good RV790 is in our new review!

Performance in First-Person 3D Shooters

Call of Duty: World at War

Starting with 1.3 version of this game it is possible to record and playback demos. Unfortunately, the minimal fps rate is not recorded in this case.

The new card has a good start. Even at a core frequency of 850MHz it is far ahead of the more expensive GeForce GTX 285 at resolutions up to 2560x1600. Nvidia’s card is only better at the highest resolution where memory bandwidth is the crucial factor. But when overclocked, the Radeon HD 4890 has no rivals, being second only to the dual-processor Radeon HD 4850 X2.

Comparing the Radeon HD 4870 1GB and the Radeon HD 4890, the latter is 9 to 13% faster at a core frequency of 850MHz.

Crysis Warhead

The new Radeon HD 4890 equals the GeForce GTX 285 at the first two resolutions and outperforms the latter at 1920x1200 and 2560x1600. When overclocked, it is even better than the Radeon DH 4850 X2, yet its bottom speed is still not comfortable in this highly demanding game. The maximum performance growth over the predecessor is 15.5%.

Enemy Territory: Quake Wars

We disabled the integrated frame rate limiter in the game console for the sake of comparing the cards. The game’s built-in benchmarking options do not provide information about the bottom speed, so there is no such info in the diagrams.

The Radeon HD 4890 is slower than the more expensive GeForce GTX 285 at three out of the four tested resolutions, but equals the latter at 1920x1200. Moreover, it easily delivers a playable frame rate even at the highest display mode. When working at overclocked frequencies, it is faster than Nvidia’s solution and occasionally faster than the Radeon HD 4850 X2.